


Flower Child

by DragonKnight24



Category: Persona 2, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, FlowerchildAU, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-28
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-05-14 16:11:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14772875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonKnight24/pseuds/DragonKnight24
Summary: Akira Kurusu re-tells his time in Tyoko to Prosecutor Sae Niijima. Starting at the beginning on that fateful day where he first meets Arsene on the streets in Tyoko all the way up to where he is now, sitting in a hollow prison cell with an itching feeling that he is forgetting something important.(Re-telling of P5 with Akira being the adopted son of Tatsuya and Jun from P2 duology and a few more twists along the way)





	1. Interrigation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waking up in a cold room with no memory and beat to all hell with two men towering over him. What could possibly go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter follows the dialogue of the actual scene and was a bastard to write. The first few chapters will follow the main storyline of the game but it will divert with the introduction of the P2 cast eventually. Akira will also mention the P2 cast a lot.

A rush of cold water rains down from above onto a boy, instantly waking him from his uneasy semi-conscience state. The sound of a voice barely reaches his's ears however the boy couldn't bring himself to care, his body ached like it hasn't done in years and his head is extremely hazy. The room he is in is hollow almost like he is back at that place and he begins to panic in earnest. Slowly, the room fades in and while it may look similar to that room -he hasn't seen it in so long but he will always remember that room - but it has two men inside with one shrouded in shadows and another glaring directly at him. He had seen that look before but never had he been on the receiving end of that kind of glare before. He can't remember who would glare like that but he had an odd sense of comfort that follows the thought. One of the men - both officers? - is beginning to get aggravated he could tell from the shift in the man's stance causing the boy to try to move away only to instead hear the rattling of chains. Glancing backwards, the boy releases that he is chained up while sitting on a chair and no amount of movement loosens the chains. It only causes more pain to erupt all throughout his body. The officer starts talking again but the boy can still barely concentrate on him making the resulting kick to the gut all the more painful and shocking. His's headaches from the impact with the wall but the officer doesn't help since he knows is standing with one foot on the boy's head ever so slowly grinding his foot down. Glancing over the officer's shoulder, the boy can see a camera and is filled with a sense of sorrow like he pities the people who will watch this 'interrogation' but he can't seem to remember who the people are.

Unable to reply, it angers the officer more, the boy's head is brutely smashed into the ground again also receiving a swift kick to the stomach, "*cough* Nngh..! *wheeze*," the boy feels like dying.

The officer takes a clipboard from the man in the shadows and starts listing off a bunch of crimes while moving towards the entrance. "Obstruction of justice, blackmail, defamation, possession of weapons..." the officer turns back to the boy, "manslaughter too, yeah? Talk about the works." Turning his full attention into the boy he continues, "To think all these crimes were led by a punk like this and you seemed to be enjoying every second of it, huh?"

The boy gets confused by the officer's comment, how could he have been enjoying? How could he have enjoyed killing people? Does this mean that he truly is no different from those people? Why can't he remember anything? Is it because of the haze in his mind?

The boy is dragged from his thoughts when he is literally dragged and shoved against the wall by the man who up until this moment had been in the shadows. Thankfully, the man also removed his handcuffs as well even though it didn't stop the pain. A clipboard invades the boy's sight, although he can't read any of it his sight is still fuzzy.

"It's under confession your name." Something at the back of his mind - a voice - tells him he shouldn't sign that they are wrong (another part is saying that they can't be wrong) so he bats the clipboard away. Walking away, the man begins talking again and the kid overflows with dread which is proven to be a correct reaction when suddenly his leg is crushed by the officer. He wants to scream but it won't help him. Sliding the clipboard back into the boy's vision, the kid realises that he can't remember his own name.

Staring blankly at the clipboard he tries to recall his name yet he cannot come up with anything. Suddenly the voice is back, it tells him his name is Akira, Akira Kurusu. Using the pen so helpfully supplied by the cop, Akira writes his name on the dotted line with the voice in his head screaming at him to remember.

Everything that happens next is a blur. He's hauled to his feet and discarded back on the chair, a table has appeared from somewhere and the two officers leave with one of them spitting. Akira thinks he can hear a commotion going on outside the door however not even by straining his ear can he hear. He very nearly drifts into the conscience realm again when the door abruptly opens.

Familiarity strikes Akira at the sight of a woman in a black suit and turtleneck furthermore thanks to the voice he knows it is Sae Niijima. Sae slides into the chair opposite to him, her face exposing her confliction of emotions yet he is drawn to her eyes only to be mildly surprised when he sees them as brown with a hint of mauve-red. The voice laughs at him for thinking they would be yellow.

"...I didn't expect it'd be you." Sae conforms that they have met before not that he had much doubt but his mind is still so hazy. She continues speaking but his consciousness is fading in and out again. He is able to catch a few things, "...I can't stop them... answer honestly... major incident... I couldn't figure out the method behind it."

"Of course you wouldn't..." Word flow from his mouth before he can stop them.

"True. There's no way I could be convinced of such a ... 'world' just by reading the reports," what world? "It seems you're coherent. When and where did you first hear about that world? How is it even possible to steal another's heart? Now tell me your account of everything."

Suddenly Akira's head erupts with immense pain and the world fades to black with a sole butterfly who appears. He has seen the butterfly before in his dreams when he was much younger. It was his first night with his new parents, he had issues sleeping in that too comfy bed yet once he finally did fall asleep he woke in a completely different place. The place had glowing circles on the floor with pillars holding the roof up - it didn't have any walls and looking out all you would see was the void. A man had stood in the centre of the circles, he wore a black turtleneck with plain black trousers and a yellow butterfly mask. With age, Akira realised that the man resembled his dad - Tatsuya - just the man had longer hair. Philemon, that is what he referred to himself as. While Akira can't remember what Philemon had said, the meet was etched into his mind because of the dejected look in his eyes.

"You are held captive. A prisoner of fate to a future that has been sealed in advance. This is truly an unjust game... your chances of winning are almost none. "A mysterious voice - one that was not Philemon - which is most definitely female comes from the butterfly. "But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you... I beg you. Please overcome this game... and save the world. The key to victory lies within the memory of your bonds - the truth that you and your friends grasped. It all began that day... when the game started half a year ago. For the sake of your world's future... as well as your own... you must remember."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea how this fanfic is going to go but it has been on my mind for weeks that I finally decided to write it up.


	2. Beginning Of a New Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira's first day in Tyoko and the first meeting with Sojiro. Basically just Akira's inner thoughts and more info on his feelings as well as his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've tried to cut down the dialogue mainly because I didn't want to re-write all of it and I'm sure none of you wanted to re-read the beginning of p5 all over again. Unfortunately, most of the start will need to be the same for the story. Most of my ideas for this story are for Futaba's palace onwards so I might end up asking suggests from friends for what to add.

The train jolted which pulled Akira from his thoughts; he was heading to the place he would be spending his probation. His pa had bid him a teary goodbye earlier and given him his watch along with his dad's lighter - his dad was not going to need it. His aunt and cousin had expressed concern for him, but he had promised to keep in touch. He wished that his uncle and dad had seen him off. The lighter in his pocket felt heavy, while the watch felt like it was burning his arm, he shouldn't have either of them.

He wouldn't have been in this situation if he had just ignored the commotion. He should have continued walking. But he couldn't, could he? No, he never would have forgiven himself if he had. He wouldn't have been any better than them if he had. They had been in his thoughts a lot lately.

Clutching his new phone - his old phone had been destroyed in the struggle - he begins his journey towards Yongen-Jaya. It's far more crowded in Tyoko than it is back in Sumuru City and the number of people nearly made Akira panic. He's always been a bit socially awkward. A beeping sound came from his phone which is odd since he had definitely charged his phone before leaving. A strange red and black eye icon appeared over the map making it unreadable however no matter how much he pressed on it it didn't disappear. Eeriely, the commotion around him had started to quiet down. Raising his head, Akira realised that everyone had stopped moving almost frozen in time all except himself.

Swiftly intense blue flames materialised at the other end of the crossing. It was calling out to him. Beckoning him closer and closer and closer. Flames begin transforming taking the shape of a figure and at the core of all the flames pushing its way through was another Akira with piercing yellow eyes. The same eyes that he had seen on his dad's face when he first met Philemon. The other Akira wore a sickening grin with wide crazed eyes but to Akira, it felt right.

Then it was gone. Everything continued on as normal with no indication of anything out of the ordinary had happened. People bustled through the streets while the app was inactive in the centre of Akira's screen. Without really thinking Akira deleted the app and continued his way to the train station.

The streets of Yongen-Jaya are far closer together compared to the streets of Sumaru and it nearly set off Akira's claustrophobia. Using the breathing techniques his dad and pa taught him, he headed over to Sojiro Sakura's home where he was meant to stay. He would have asked for directions however the only person who seemed available was a rather unfriendly looking officer. Instead, he chose to keep his head down and walk right past him all the while praying that the map was correct. Turning down an alley, he overheard a mother and child talking about the accidents. Akira clenched his fists in his pockets but carried on.

Upon arrival at the Sakura residence, Akira spotted a delivery guy outside looking slightly frustrated,"Oh yeah... Sakura-san's usually at his cafe around this time. Well, Leblanc's in the back alley so I should make my other deliveries first."

Turning back towards the main part of the alleyway while quickly checking the map on his phone for the place called 'Leblanc', he looks for the apparent coffee and curry cafe. The little curry place didn't take long to find and looked to be open to the public, therefore, there was a high chance that Sojiro would be in. Taking a deep breath Akira entered the cafe shop to begin his new life.

Crowded. Not with people, there were only three other people in the store however the placement of the booths and the bar left little room to walk in the store. An elderly couple and a man likely around the same age as his parents were watching a TV report about another incident though from the way the man muttering he wasn't watching the report. Scuffing his shoes sightly was enough to get the man attention and his face showed nothing more than annoyance. The elderly couple decided that it was time for them to leave unfortunately leaving Akira alone with his new guardian.

"So, you're Akira," the man - Sojiro? - sounded exhausted and Akira felt a ping of guilt for being the cause.

"You're Sojiro?" It came out more of a question than intended.

"Uh-huh. I'm Sojiro Sakura. You'll be in my custody over the next year. I was wondering what kind of unruly kid would show up, but you're the one huh? Have you been told? A customer of mine," -Aunt Ulala- " and your parents know each other and- well not that it matters... follow me."

Sojiro leads him upstairs into the attic of the cafe which was surprisingly spacious even though it was covered in dust and had loads of junk cluttering up the floor space. All the necessities were also present a good enough looking bed, a shelf for books, a small -if uncomfortable looking- couch, even a workbench and table. Overall the room wasn't the worst Akira had stayed in though he would need to clean it up a bit - starting with the windows.

"You look like you wanna say something."

"It's not bad."

Sojiro raised an eyebrow at the comment but continued informing Akira other information he would need however Akira had lost interest in what Sojiro was saying until he happened to bring up the assault charge. It stung. He didn't need a stranger telling him how much of burden he's become to his parents especially the way Sojiro put it, "they got rid of you for being a pain in the ass." That's the main reason he chose to transfer to a school so far away that way he wouldn't have to watch his parents try to hide their disappointment so he wouldn't be a 'pain in the ass'. A saner part of his mind reminded him that his parents would never be disappointed in him even though both his dad and uncle are police officers. Afterall the original plan was to stay with Uncle Katsuya, however, do to... what happened that would be impossible. Akira clenched his fist once again at the thought.

"We'll be going to Shujin tomorrow."

"Shujin?" Having been lost in thought he ended up saying the first thing that came to his head.

"Shujin Academy - the school you'll be attending. We'll introduce yourself properly to the staff there. There's rarely a place that'll accept someone like you, you know. What a waste of my Sunday." You're not the only one who would have had plans for Sunday, "Your luggage arrived earlier; I left them over there." Sojiro turned to left down the stairs into the store below.

Finding a scrap piece of cloth Akira got to work cleaning the windows so that more light could enter the room and brighten it up. Afterwards, Akira got to work cleaning the rest of the room firstly he changed into more comfortable clothing and moved the box to the side on the low shelf. Next, he got to work on cleaning the floor with a mop and water in an attempt to dispose of most of the cobwebs. Lastly, he placed the sheets on the bed. He would normally help his pa clean the house back at home and on rare occasion help his cousin with his chores at his aunt and uncles house.

Getting lost in thought again he didn't notice that Sojiro had returned to find out what all the noise was about. He didn't actually listen to what Sojiro said but he gathered that he was leaving and that he should go to bed causing Akira to check his pa watch which was now on his wrist. Sighing, he headed over to the bed after changing to his pyjamas and crawled onto the mattress while contemplating his life up 'til this point and how he got here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Zarclonia for the comment


	3. Dreams & Memories Of the Night Draped In Velvet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira relaxes in his new bed and remembers the night he got arrested. He also finally gets to meet an old family friend.

Akira had been on his way back from the train station when he heard a women screaming for help down one of the streets. It wasn't the way he needed to go to get home however his Pa wouldn't mind if he was a little late especially if he was helping someone. From his position in the street, he could just about make out the shapes of two people fighting off in the distance. Getting closer he could hear the man yelling about the blatantly terrified women who the drunk man had cornered against the wall. Akira increased his pace over to the two but the words the man said made him falter slightly.

"The police are my bitches. They're not gonna take you seriously."

Akira had heard from his Uncle Katsuya and Dad that a man had started bribing the police again. It was one of the main reasons that his Uncle Katsuya and Dad had been sent to work on a case away from Suramu. Although if Akira stranded his ears he could definitely hear the police sirens off in the distance getting louder. The man seemed to also be able to hear the sirens as well as he takes a moment to comment on them before becoming far rougher with the woman.

"Someone called the cops, huh? Get in the car! Incompetent fools like you need to shut your mouths and follow where I steer this country!" Akira moved forward towards the pair, "What're you looking at? Get outta my face!" His words are heavily slurred even when addressing Akira, "This ain't a show. Get lost kid." He turned back to the woman and spat back at her with such venom it surprised Akira, "See? This is all because you're so damn slow! Get in the car!"

Everything afterwards happened in a blur but Akira distinctively remembered the faces of his Uncle and Dad's collogues. Heads down trying not to look at him. Everyone in the station knows who he is he brings lunch for his dad when he forgets it at home and will spend extended amounts of time in Uncle Katsuya's office doing homework. All of them sat back and watched as Akira was convicted.

The sound of his phone pulled him from his thoughts however Akira couldn't think of why. He didn't have many friends back in Sumaru and anyone who was his friend all but abandoned him after the arrest. It could have been his cousin however it was past his bedtime and his Pa and Aunt would be asleep as well. Digging his phone out of his pocket, he found that weird app back again and it is once again pulsing on screen. Unsure of what the app was Akira chose to delete it again. Deciding that it was time to sleep since he was going to have to go to Shujin. Akira was then lulled off to sleep swearing that he could hear piano music and an opera singer.

Akira awoke to the feeling of something around his wrists, ankle and the feeling of something heavy on his stomach. Drops of water could be heard periodically as well as the sound of more chains swaying in the wind. Sitting up on from the bed, he clutched his head and tried to keep himself calm with the breathing ex- a chuckle cuts through the air. Turning to the entrance to the of the cell he sees two children standing at the door: one had a hat that read 'O-Y-O-O' while the other had a hat that read 'X-M-R-N'. Although what caught Akira's attention was the man sitting at a desk in the centre of the room, mainly the man's unnaturally large nose.

"Trickster... Welcome to my Velvet Room." His voice was extremely deep that it borderline being creepy.

Akira grasped the bars on the door and attempted to opened it, however, had no luck with it and the ball and chain didn't help. He tried to shake the door harder in an attempted to see if it would work yet the chains wrapped around the door made it impossible.

"So you've come to, Imate." The twin with the 'X-M-R-N' spoke.

"The you in reality is currently fast asleep. You are only experiencing this as a dream." The other had a far softer voice, unlike her twin who had sounded like she wanted to bite his head off.

"You're in the presence of our master. Stand up straight!" 'X-M-R-N' would definitely bite his head clean off.

"Welcome, I am delighted to make your acquaintance." The man shrouded partly in shadows spoke. "This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter..." The speech sounded familiar like he had heard it before although he could pinpoint where. "I am Igor..." Now that name was familiar to Akira, he had heard his family talk about a man called Igor multiple times. Could this be him? No, this is just another delusion his mind has made up. "...speak of important matters. It involves your life as well."

"My life..." It came out more as a mumble rather than the question he had originally intended.

"Still, this is a surprise... the state of this room reflects the state of your own heart." His heart? What does that mean? Is it because of his situation? "... there is no mistake that ruin awaits you"

"Ruin?" Fear ran down his spine at the ambiguity of what Igor was saying.

"Haha, worry not. There is a means to oppose such a fate. You must be 'rehabilitated.' Rehabilitated towards freedom. Do you have the resolve to challenge the distortion of the world?"

"I would rather avoid ruin!" Akira decided to put up a mask of cockiness in an attempt to hide how terrified he was.

"Allow me to observe the path of your rehabilitation." The two children turned their attention back to Akira, "Ah, pardon me for not introducing the others. To your right is Caroline; to your left, Justine. They serve as wardens here."

"Hmph, try and struggle as hard as you like." Akira was sure that if Caroline wasn't trying to be professional she would have tried to hit him with her baton.

"The duty of wardens is to protect inmates. We are also your collaborators..." Justine looks like she is less likely to harm him at least, "...That is if you remain obedient." Or maybe not.

"I shall explain the roles of these of these two at another occasion." Another Occasion? Not that he is complaining in earnest, these dreams are still better than the ones he has been having recently. Turning their back to him the twins look back at their master, "Now then, it seems the night is waning... it is almost time. Take your time to slowly understand this place. We will surely meet again, eventually..."

Igor makes a signal with his hand and alarm bells start echoing throughout the prison yet Akira couldn't see any bell. He moves back from the cell door no truly understanding what is happening anymore.

Caroline takes that moment to turn back to Akira, "Time's up. Now hurry up and go back to sleep."

Realising that his conciseness was beginning to fade he made one last attempt to open the door. Some part of Akira wished that he would have this dream again while a voice at the back of his mind told him to be wary. Either way, Akira knew that his life was going to change.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to PaperSnake and Lunaxel for the comments.


	4. First Encounter With The Bastard Of Lust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira goes to Shujin for the first time and he meets an odd P.E teacher.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took ages to finish and I should have gone to sleep at least an hour ago but oh well. Anyway more importantly starting on Monday my exams start again while it will only be roughly two weeks of the exams I have quite a few plans with friends after as their birthdays are coming up so updates will slow down. I will put what happening next month in my next chapter.

Why would he have dreamt about a prison cell? Why were the wardens children? Why was the one in charge called Igor? Since waking up Akira had been sitting on his bed pondering what that dream was all about. Could the app have something to do with it? What about the hallucination on his way here? Although what concerned Akira the most was Igor's talk about ruin and rehabilitation. What did he mean? Ruin? Rehabilitation? Was his mind just creating that prison as a way of coping? He must have sat there for an hour before he heard the sound of the shop door being opened. He has always had good hearing after all he needed it.

"Looks like you're up." Thankfully Sojiro took this time to come into his room. "Well then, let's go introduce ourselves properly to the staff about your transfer." Akira doesn't expect this encounter to go well he knows why the school accepted him. It would look good for them if they managed to change a kid with a record. Just accepting him must have given them a gold star with their bosses even if he didn't change. "It'll cost you a bit to ride the train there, and the route transfers are a pain. I'll drive you there, but just for today. Let's go." Good thing that his Pa promised to send him his allowance. Sojiro turned away and headed down the stairs mumbling, "Sheesh... men aren't usually allowed in my passenger seat." Holding back a laugh at the comment Akira followed him down the stairs and out the door. Maybe he would find this place entertaining.

The drive to Shujin wasn't much Sojiro barely said a word to him and the music on the radio was nothing special. Sojiro also wasn't lying about the distance to get there but this is Tyoko, not a city on the shore. As expected Shujin was bigger than both Seven Sisters and Kasugauama it looked to be separated into two different buildings. The place had an ominous feel to it while it could have been the giant gates at the front, however, a familiar distant voice at the back of his mind tells him to be on guard again.

The teachers were assholes. That was the only way to describe them. That and the principal looked like the Penguin from Batman and no he wasn't being petty. The principal made it sound like he was secretly dealing drugs on the side and his new homeroom tutor wasn't much better. The homeroom tutor - Ms Kawakami - was acting like he wasn't standing right in front of her with half the comments she was making, however, the longer she went on the less angry Akira became and the more defeated Akira felt. He was beginning to wish that his parents were here they would never have stood for this kind of treatment. Dad would lose his normal silence and how a lot of choice words with them while Pa would have been passive aggressive with them and showered them with fake kindness before exploding with anger behind closed doors. He'd been gone less than a day and he already missed them all.

All these factors lead to Akira having to excuse himself to the toilets, staying would have been too overwhelming. He splashed his face with water from the sink when he arrived in the toilets and started using his breathing exercises again. He'd started relying on them too much recently. His life had really taken a nose drive in the recent months and no matter what he tried it didn't seem like he could stop any of it. Almost like some else was deliberately making his life hell. It was such a stupid thought at the time.

Leaving the bathroom, he was going to head back to the principles office when he saw a man heading his way. The man was wearing a white shirt with tracksuit bottoms and a stopwatch around his neck, therefore, he was most likely a P.E teacher. Although what has made him freeze was that Akira swore that the man had yellow eyes. The same yellow eyes he only just realised that the twins wardens in his dream had. The same yellow eyes he had seen on his own face. The same yellow eyes he had seen in a distant memory of his Dad. The P.E teacher, however, didn't seem to notice Akira and his eyes were a normal shade of brown. Akira still couldn't bring himself to move through.

He must have been there for some time as Sojiro was heading in his direction thus the meeting must have ended. Akira went into a kind of autopilot and just followed Sojiro all the way to the school entrance not caring to give Sojiro an answer when he was questioned even if it aggravated the older man. Akira just wanted all these weird things to stop. Nothing like this had happened when he was in Sumaru why was it happening here? Sumaru was normal, unlike Tyoko. Something in the back of his mind was telling him he was wrong and that Sumaru wasn't normal.

It was in the car when Akira finally turned off his autopilot and that was only because the traffic was not moving causing to Sojiro to start tapping his steering wheel breaking Akira's thoughts. Judging from the way Sojiro was acting this kind of traffic isn't normally thus something must have happened. Maybe there had been another accident? Must be with the trains for this many people to be driving. Smiling to himself at his deductive skills, he gets hit by a wave of sadness upon the realisation that it was his Dad and Uncle who had taught him everything he knew.

He forced himself to listen to what Sojiro was saying, "...So how was it? The school, I mean. Think you can manage?"

"I'll manage." It won't be the first time he's had to survive on his own.

Sojiro was obviously not happy with his answer, "Now listen up. Don't even think of doing anything stupid. Still, you were expelled once already. To think you'd re-enroll at a different one..." He stopped listening to Sojiro when he realised that he was just giving him another lecture.

Akira was thankful when the radio goes off, "Again, a subway has derailed at Shibuya Station, greatly affecting the timetable..." Frowning at the news he decided that he would have to do more research into the accident later to see if it was linked.

Once returned to Leblanc, Akira chose to flick through the diary that Sojiro had given to him just before he had left to return home. It wasn't that big but he would definitely be able to keep a record of what he was doing in there. Deciding whether or not to put in the yellow eyes incident is when a piercing ring sound could be heard throughout the cafe. It couldn't have been his phone, therefore, it must have been the cafe's phone. Akira crawled out of bed where he had made himself comfortable and headed down the stairs to check who it was - guessing that it was Sojiro since no one else would be calling at this time of the night.

"Yo, it's me." Definitely Sojiro's voice on the other end.

"Sojiro." His own voice sounded kind of cold but he didn't care it's been a strange day and he just wanted it to be over.

"Good. Uhhh... I closed up shop but I forgot to flip the sign to closed. It's too much of a hassle for me to go back, so you can flip the sign for me."

"Ok," Akira reply not waiting for him to reply before hanging up the phone on him.

Opening the door to the cafe, he quickly flipped the sign to closed before locking the front door again. Unfortunately, the cold air was enough to take all the weariness from his bones. He needed to find something else to do. Realising that he still had the notebook in his hand, he decided to turn to the back pages and start doing a bit of research into the train accident using different news stations on the TV and articles he could find on his phone.

It must have been around midnight before he was feeling tired enough to go to bed. Thankfully as he discovered last night the bed was actually very comfortable not as good as his bed at home but still good. Deciding to check to see what train lines he would need for tomorrow he grabbed his phone from his pocket yet was meet once again with the sight of the strange app. His phone must have some kind of virus because this app kept appearing even though it had been deleted multiple times but it was a new phone and he had barely done anything on it. Dragging the app to the bin, he decided he was going to ask his Uncle Karou to check out his phone tomorrow.

Letting out a yawn, he finally let sleep overcome him. All the while that voice in his mind telling him to rest well for tomorrow will be the day that the game will truly begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Lunaxel for commenting. Thank you also for all the kudos.


	5. I Am Thou, Thou Art I: Time to Be Chained to Hell Itself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira's first day at his new school starts off terribly and quickly descends further down. But who expects to end up in a castle, nearly murdered by a teacher, tear your face off and find a talking monster cat - who isn't a cat and all this before lunchtime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while and exams have been hells.  
> I think this chapter drags quite a bit. It's also much longer than I intended it to be in the end I just kept writing and writing and I couldn't find a good endpoint.  
> Anyway, this is the last week of exams but I have an exam every day (all core subjects) and one test the week after and a lot of friends birthday parties (including a dnd one) then I'm going on NCS. Thus from now on, I'll be updating this every week on Sunday unless I've had time to write more.

_Shouting. Screaming. Belt buckle meeting flesh. Crys. Even more yelling. No matter how much Akira tried so desperately to escape but he couldn't. Breathing exercises but they're not working they've always worked before. Curling up on himself, he tried to hide away from them but he couldn't and no matter how much he tried to cover his ears he could still hear them coming. He knows better than to hide. He knows better than to cry. He just wants his family. His real family, not his biological one. His biological one wasn't his real family. So he cried for them. He screamed out for Dad, Pa, his uncles and aunts. Still, nobody came._

Fling himself up in the bed, Akira instead found himself to be in an attic and not, in fact, having to hide from his biological parents. Yet the cold sweat won't leave him nor would he stop shaking instead he reached for his phone and called his Pa.

"Kira? Are you alright?" Pa's voice although laced with sleep was enough to calm him however he was still breathing rapidly enough for his Pa to notice. "Akira I need you to listen to my voice and concentrate on it. Now close your eyes and breath in, 1...2...3...4...5... Now breath out, 1...2...3...4...5..." Pa continued this for the next few minutes before Akira breathing had evened out to what it normally was.

"I'm ok now, Pa." His own voice was stranded and while he didn't want to hang up the phone he needed to get to school.

"Kira are you sure you're going to be ok in Tyoko?" Any sign that Pa was tired was gone by now Akira could only hear the worry in his voice.  
"Pa, I'm going to be fine it's just been a weird few days is all."

"Kira, I just want you to be safe ok? I hate that you are so far away from us."

"It's ok Pa. I hope I didn't wake you."

"It's ok I was on my way to work that's all Kira. Would you like to talk about your dream?" Akira hesitates for a moment letting his Pa understand just what the dream was about, "Kira... they aren't going to come and you away from us. We will always be here and we love you."

"Thanks, Pa but I really need to start getting ready for school so I'll call you again later."

"Ok, Kira. I'll speak to you again later. I love you and be sure not to forget it."

"I know Pa. I love you too." Akira couldn't help but smile to himself nor could he stop the rush of emotions that filled him with the words.

Quickly changing into his uniform, he headed down the stairs to the cafe below. It was empty except for Sojiro who was behind the bar with a glass of water and a plate of curry. The sight of the curry caused sorrow to overcome Akira after all curry was his Uncle Katsuya's favourite food. No, it is his favourite - Uncle Katsuya wasn't dead yet.  
"I heard you talking with someone upstairs, who was it?" Sojiro asked while watching him eat the curry he had left out for him.

"My Pa." Sojiro may have tried to say something else but Akira didn't care instead deciding to concentrate on his curry and control his emotions.

Getting up and heading to the door he heard Sojiro ask him to flip the sign which he did as he left. He followed the road to the Yogen-Jaya subway station without any issue with people mainly chatting about the accident on the train yesterday. Unlike when he arrived the train was packed full of people with Akira having to hug his bag and being pushed against the wall of the train. The LCD screens were playing the news however it didn't display anything that Akira didn't already know but he still chose to listen in the event that there had been any new update. There hadn't.

Exiting the train at the Shibuya station and heading up the stairs he checks all the signs for the one that says Ginza line. Admittedly it took longer than it should have - he spent 10 minutes walking around in circles - but he did find the Ginza line and get on the train even if the train was somehow had more people in. As much as Akira doesn't like being touched he knew that on the train it couldn't be helped. He just needed to remember to breath.

It had started raining while he was on the train and he didn't have an umbrella so that was how he found himself standing in front of a store in hopes of protecting himself from the rain. Quickly checking his phone to see how long it would take him to walk to Shujin he found that the app had returned - he also realised he'd forgotten to ask Uncle Karou to look at his phone leading him to sigh. Noticing that another figure had moved beside him, he turned to look at them just in time to see them remove their hood and release her blonde her from within. What caught his eyes through was that her eyes were yellow. Those yellow eyes again. But just like all the times before they were gone in a blink of the eye replaced by a light blue. He began to think he was mad. The blonde girl, however, didn't seem to care that he was staring instead her features softened and gave him a smile. There was a somewhat awkward silence that fell between them until a car pulled up in front of them both. It was that P.E teacher from yesterday.

"Good morning. You want me to give you a ride to school? You're gonna be late." The man seemed to be generally concerned about the two although the voice was back and telling him to be on guard.

"Um, sure. Thank you." The girl didn't seem to have an issue with him though.  
"Do you need a lift too?"

The voice in his mind told him he should decline and Akira hadn't expected to be asked thus he panicked and let out a soft noise while shaking his hand. He stopped when he realised his first assessment was wrong and the girl did have an issue with the man. Her face dropped immediately after she belted herself into the car but why? She looked so sad. Akira could look away even when the window was up and the car was disappearing out of view.

"Damnit... Screw that pervy teacher." While Akira had been looking at the car a blond boy had appeared.

"Pervy teacher?" What?

Turning to look at Akira, the blond boy gains a look of irritation, "...What do you want? You plannin' on rattin' me out to Kamoshida?"  
"Kamoshida." Akira had definitely heard that name before.

"Huh? In that car just now. It was Kamoshida. He does whatever the hell he wants. Who does he think he is - the king of the castle? Don't you agree?" He also seemed quite vulgar.

"The king of the castle?" Maybe this teacher was more important than Akira originally thought if this student was describing Kamoshida correctly he must be quite egotistical.  
"Uh, it's just a sayin'..." Akira must have started thinking out loud again. "Wait. You don't know Kamoshida? Are you for real? You're from Shujin right?" Akira blank stare at the question only seemed to aggravate the vulgar boy even more, "...You messin' with me? You're wearing a Shujin uniform. A second-year, huh... We're the same grade then. Never seen you before though." Surprisingly the blank stare that the vulgar boy didn't agitate him rather he seemed to understand, "Oh, you a transfer student?" Suddenly the vulgar boy seemed rather happy and not at all agitated like he had before although the tone quickly shifted to being far more serious tone, "Then no wonder you don't know him." The vulgar boy whispered it almost like he didn't want to be heard. "The rain ain't too bad. We better hurry up, or we'll be late." Akira found himself interested in this P.E now for multiple reasons.

Just as both Akira and the vulgar boy was about it head to school both felt a wave of dizziness hit them causing both to clutch their heads in pain. Akira felt especially light headed.

"Uuugh, my head hurts... I Dammit I wanna go home."

Akira turned down to his phone and found that his map app had lost his location. Sighing he decided that during his break he was going to have to call Uncle Karou about his phone because it was acting up even if it was new.

* * *

 

Clutching his head in pain, his memories are returning, unfortunately, Sae takes that moment to interrupt his recount, "...There was a terrible subway accident that day. You remember it, don't you?" Akira must have 'unintentionally' omitted some subjects that occurred. "I assume you know of the uproar that the public calls the 'psychotic breakdown incidents'." Akira's heart arches but he doesn't remember why. Something had happened to do with the psychotic breakdowns but he can't remember. He has lost something he is sure to the psychotic breakdowns. But what?

"What does this mean?" Even the voice in Akira's mind is feeling unusually sombre

"You say that like it's none of your business." Sae assumes that his question was an answer to her question. "It was all over the new, and one of the victims includes included a teacher at your high school. I've no doubt you heard about it. On that day were you still an 'ordinary' student?."

The voice in his mind tells him not to answer and he trust it, "..." Sae, however, didn't seem to want to give up just yet.

"Let me change the question. You transferred to Shujin Academy, correct?" A short nod of Akira's head was all Sae needed, "An ordinary prep school that could be found in any city... That's what it should have been. What happened around that time? Tell me - truthfully."

* * *

 

Akira found himself following the vulgar boy down the street and into an alleyway which thankfully seemed to be a shortcut to the school. A distorted sound invaded Akira's ears, however looking around he couldn't find the sound. Vulgar boy's sudden shout was enough to draw Akira's attention back to the exit of the alleyway where there seemed to be an eerie purple glow. A castle. In the area where Akira was pretty sure the school should be, stood a castle instead.

"We didn't... come the wrong way though... Yeah, this should be the place. What is going on here? I guess we'll just have to go and ask." This boy cannot be serious. This was very obviously not the school even if the sign said so. Yet at the same time, the surrounding area matches what Akira had seen with Sojiro when he visited just the day before. In the end, his curiosity got the better of him and he followed the vulgar boy inside. The voice in his head whispered something he couldn't hear.

"Th-That's weird... Where's the school...?"

"We made a wrong turn," it was meant to be a question however it came out as a statement.

"This SHOULD be the school... I think..." Well, that's great they were either lost or somehow got high. The vulgar boy took out his phone, "Out of service? Where'd we end up...? The sign was for the school, right?"

"Yeah."

"Right!? You saw it too!" Akira came to the conclusion that they had gotten high somehow. There was no other logical solution.

The sound of metal hitting metal was heard from one of the corridors like a man running in armour. Turning to the corridor, Akira found that a man in armour wearing a blue mask was headed in their direction. What worried Akira was that the man had a shield and a sword. That sword was so very sharp and would easily be able to cut either of them. His eyes darted to the door and poised himself ready to run, however, the vulgar boy had different ideas.

"Geez, you freaked me out," Does the vulgar boy know this man? "Who're you? You a student?" The vulgar boy moved towards the soldier and Akira tensed at how close the boy was getting, "Man, your costume's impressive... Is your armour real? C'mon, don't just stand there. Say somethin'" The sound of metal could be heard again and another soldier identical to the first appeared from the same corridor. It seems the situation had finally dawned on the vulgar boy as he backed up and held terror in his voice, "...H-Hey, what's goin' on here?"

"We need to get out of here!" Akira tapped his foot on the ground and was about to head to the entrance when the two soldiers moved to surround the two of them and the sound of more soldier could be heard in the distance from closer to the entrance.

"Stop standin' around and run!" The vulgar boy started to run to the entrance before Akira could warn him of more soldier not that it mattered as the soldier had blocked the entrance. "Ugh, what's with these guys!?"

The vulgar boy barely had time to finish his sentence before he was knocked down from one of the soldiers smashing their shield against him. "Oww... Y-You're gonna break my bones, dammit! The hell you think you're- Aagh!"

Unlike the vulgar boy, who was now unconscious on the floor, Akira knew hand to hand combat taught to him by Aunt Ulala. Akira was able to dodge the soldier's shield and went on to perform an overhand who's shield was out the way. Pain erupted from his hand, he hadn't been able to dislodge the soldier's mask and it was made from a harder material than he thought, it was enough to keep him distracted from the soldier who brought his shield down on him. Being floored didn't stop Akira though, rolling out of the way of a sword, which the soldiers had begun swing the moment he started fighting back, he tried getting back on his feet only to be hit from behind from the handle of one of the swords. Disorientated from the attack Akira was unable to protect himself as one of the soldiers chose to stamp on his head to knock him out.

_Hiding under his bed, Akira tried to calculate a path to the front door but was unable to. Choosing to look for another route he found that the window at the end of the hall was open if he climbed the small table he could reach it. Hearing his father and mother in the lounge he ran for it. Gripping the table top he pulled himself up only to knock the vase which was on it off causing his father to yell at him and audibly head in his direction. Panicking, Akira ended up slipping on the doily and landed back on the floor on his arm with an extremely distinct crack. Hearing his father at the end of the hall he tried to crawl back to his room. He was almost there. Just a little further. Breath was taken away from him as he was picked up by the back of his shirt. He was so close._

"...Hey. Hey! Wake up!" Snapping awake he found himself in a dungeon and not in his old house locked in a cupboard. Pushing himself up on the bed, he swung his legs off the bed and clutched his head which was in immense pain which was stopping him from going into a full-blown panic attack. Turning back to the vulgar boy, he looked generally concerned, "You all right?"

"I'm fine. What about you?" If the vulgar boy didn't believe him he didn't comment on it.

"Yeah, more or less." The vulgar boy started looking around the cell they were in, "Looks like this ain't no dream... Ugh, what's going on!?" Running over to the bars Akira found that the vulgar boy was leaving purple splotches as he ran. "Hey, let us get out of here! I know there's someone out there!" Coming back the vulgar boy looked the most pissed off Akira had seen him, "Dammit, where are we!? Is this some kinda TV set...?"

Before anyone had time to answer both boys heard the cries of another further in the dungeon until the cried abruptly ended. Rushing to the bars in a vain attempt to look past the bars into the deeper parts of the dungeon, Akira was holding his breath while the chains were too big for anything other than display they both obviously were in a place where people were being tortured and he couldn't stop shaking. The screaming had stopped by the time both had reached the bars which unnerved both more than they could say.  
"Th-The hell was that just now...?" Soon the screaming started up again but was sooner interrupted by the sound of footsteps headed in their direction.

Two more of the soldiers from earlier appeared by the bars,"Be glad that your punishment has been decided upon. Your charge is 'unlawful entry'. Thus you will be sentenced to death."

"Say what!?"

"No one's allowed to do as they please in my castle." A distorted voice could be heard from behind the guards. Parting the guards moved out the way to let a familiar looking figure in a crown and cloak. Kamoshida as the vulgar boy stated earlier. Only now he found that the man had the yellow eyes he had seen on him back during Akira's first visit only no matter how long he looked at them they didn't change back.

"Huh, wait... Is that you, Kamoshida?"

"I thought it was some petty thief, but to think it'd be you, Sakamoto..." Here Akira was beginning to enjoy calling Sakamoto vulgar boy although at least now he wouldn't have to ask him what his name is. "Are you trying to disobey me again? It looks like you haven't learned your lesson at all, huh?" Akira has already guessed that the two had history but it confirmed the fact but also left a distaste in his mouth at the ambiguity of what that history was. Turning to Akira Kamoshida's face turned cockier, "And you brought a friend this time... because you can't do anything for yourself."

Shaking the bars, Sakamoto had a look of irritation and anger, "This ain't funny, you asshole!" It was at that moment Akira realised that Kamoshida wasn't wearing anything under his cloak and the sudden exchange turned very awkward to him.

"Is that how you speak to a king? It seems you don't understand the position you're in at all. Not only did you break into my castle, you committed the crime of insulting me - the king. The punishment for that is death." What sick person enjoys sentencing his students to death? "It's time for an execution! Take him out!" On a less serious note, Kamoshida was wearing a pink speedo which was a relief to Akira - kinda.

Three soldiers entered the cell and cornered Sakamoto however unlike before Sakamoto had more fight in him which lead him to body slamming one of the soldiers. Predictively, it didn't end well with another soldier punching his in the stomach. Akira started to calculate a way to get Sakamato however from his own position it wouldn't be possible as he would only hit the metal armour of the soldiers and with his hand in its current condition - it's likely broken, it is doubtful he'll do much damage.  
"Just go! Get outta here...! These guys are serious!" It seems like Sakamoto generally does care about Akira which Akira found odd as they had only just met there was no reason for him to care about him, it only made his determination to save him more.

"Oh running away, are we? What a heartless friend you are?"

"He ain't a friend! C'mon! Now hurry up and go!"

"What's the matter? Too scared to run away? Hmph, pathetic scum isn't worth my time. I'll focus on this one's execution..."

Guards parted to allow Kamoshida to enter the cell and the guard that Akira had been standing behind was now pointing their sword at his throat thus even if he wanted to he wouldn't be able to leave Sakamoto. Two of the guards grabbed Sakamoto by his arms and held him slightly off the ground where Kamoshida preceded to repeatedly punch him all the while insulting him. The force of one of Kamoshida's punches was enough for the guards to drop him while Kamoshida took the opportunity to spit on him. Kamoshida really was scum.

Another guard picked Sakamoto up by his shirt back which was enough to spur Akira into action, "Stop it!"

"Hm...? What ...? Don't you dare tell me you don't know who I am." Kamoshida moved closer swing his body so he was face to face with Akira and he looked deep into Akira eyes, "That look in your eyes irritates me!" Akira found himself kicked to the wall falling on his broken hand causing him involuntarily let out a shout of pain. Turning back to Sakamoto but still addressing the guards about Akira Kamoshida sneered, "Hold him there... After the peasant, it's his turn to die."

Akira made a run towards Sakamoto after coming to the conclusion that taking out Kamoshida would be there best bet to escape, however, the two guards shoved him back against the wall. It was that moment when the world went dark and all Akira could see clearly was a vibrant blue butterfly similar to one he's seen in his dreams. "This is truly an unjust game... Your chances of winning are almost none." The voice didn't belong to Philemon this butterfly had a feminine voice while Philemon was male, "But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you..."

Colour returned to the world as the butterfly disappeared but then a familiar voice invaded his head, "What's the matter...? Are you simply going to watch? Are you forsaking him to save yourself? Death awaits him if you do nothing. Was your previous decision a mistake then?" It wasn't! Akira started struggling all over again and found that the pain from his hand seemed distant, "Very well... I have heeded your resolve." Suddenly Akira had a splitting headache like someone had taken a brick to it and repeatedly smashed it down. It was unbearable that tears had started to stream down his face and he was screaming as loud as his voice allowed him to. "Vow to me. I am thou, thou art I... Thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice! Call upon my name, and release thy rage! Show the strength of thy will to ascertain all on thine own, though thou be chained to Hell itself!"

"Execute him!"

It seemed that all that happened in Akira's head but he still had the instilled confidence from the voice, "That's enough!"

Kamoshida looked generally surprised by Akira's interruption as did the guards that the one holding Sakamoto dropped him. "You desire to be killed that much...? Fine!" With a motion of his head, the guard closest to Akira smashed their shield against him knocking his glasses to the floor.

Two other guards quickly put their spears in a cross over his neck pinning him to the wall with a guard slowly raising his sword to deal the final blow. Then something snapped inside him at that moment and he felt a something solid began forming on his face. A mask. The voice in his tells him to rip it off so he did. The mask had fused with the top layer of skin but that didn't stop him, he kept pulling until he felt the skin be ripped from his face. Even as his own blood invaded his vision and the horrid sound of his skin tear filled his ears. His broken hand felt like nothing compared to this. Yet the skin healed almost immediately after and for a moment after the mask was off there was peace. Manic laughter filled his mind and a familiar blue flame began to envelop him until that was all he could see. He felt everything and nothing all at the same time but it wasn't overwhelming. He felt right. He couldn't stop smirking at the bastard's fear so evident on his face. With this power, it would be so easy to slay them all. Chains rattled as his other self departed from his form and with a swish of his arms his other self sprouted wings and blow away the guards and anything that wasn't nailed down. The bastard too the time to crawl away like the maggot he was.

"I am the pillager of twilight - 'Arsene'! I am the rebel's soul that resides within you. If you so desire, I shall consider granting you the power to break through this crisis."  
The voice who had spoken so much to him since he arrived now had a face, it was dressed in a black vest with white shirt and red legs and coat with a high collar. His head was black with eyes and mouth made from flames and has two horns and a top hat. Of course, it also had low bat-like wings that contrasted the blue flames still around him.

"Give me your power!"

"Hmph, very well..."

"Who the hell are you...!?" Turning back to the maggot who had decided to return but was still shaking, "Guards! Start by killing that one!" The two guards split apart into black and red goop and reformed into pumpkins with hats and lanterns. "You'll learn the true strength of my men!"

"Detest the enemies before you! Change that animosity into power... and unleash it!"

Ordering Arsene to use Eiha he didn't notice that the other pumpkin was nearing him until it was nearly too late therefore while he did move it wasn't enough and he still got cut from the attack. Dodging in the direction of the other pumpkin he swung his dagger at it effectively killing it. Spinning around on his previously broken arm - it had magically healed - he ordered Arsene to kill the last pumpkin with Eiha ending the fight.

Turning back to Sakamoto who was laying against the wall, it was Sakamoto who spoke first, "What... What was that just now...?"

"You little...!" Kamoshida who surprisingly hadn't run away was quickly floored by Sakamoto.

"You like that, you son of a bitch!?"

"Lock the cell!"

Running towards the cell doors, they were able to lock Kamoshida inside although he obviously wasn't happy about it. Ryuji kept questioning Akira on what just happened but without answers, Akira stopped listening until his clothes suddenly changed back. However what Akira cared most about was how they were going to get out of the dungeon unharmed - and not have to see Kamoshida thrust at the bars again. Sprinting over to the bars at the end of the dungeon section he found them locked and couldn't be opened since Sakamoto had thrown away the keys in his hast to get away from Kamoshida. Finding the only way to get away would be though jumping a broken bridge which they both just about did. Of course, the door at the end of this sides section would be locked, however, there was an open cell with a hole in the wall which he decided to crawl through. Thankfully they ended on the other side of the bars and crossed a drawbridge but before they could reach the end of the corridor two guards can running from a different door splitting off with one crossing the bridge.

"Over there... They're lookin' for us, right? I ain't playin' along with this anymore! We gotta find a way outta this goddamn place!"

Resuming their sprint up a spiral staircase silently praying it would be the first floor of the castle. It wasn't, instead, it was more cells but these had people in which to Akira's surprise were wearing the Shujin uniform. Noticing another drawbridge he tried to find a way to make it drop and guessed that it has something to do with the statue. He decided though to ensure there definitely wasn't another way as using the drawbridge would be too noticeable.

"...Hey, you there. Blonde! Frizzy hair! Look over here!" Turning back to the last cell in the lines inside was a monster cat thing.

"What is this thing!?"

"You're not soldiers of this castle, right!? Get me outta here! Look the key's right there!"

"We're trying to get the hell outta here...! I mean, you obviously look like an enemy too!"

Deciding that it would be best to let the monster cat out since it wouldn't be in a cell if it was an enemy even if Sakamoto started objecting. Akira did, however, check to ensure that the monster cat - who denied being a cat - knew a way out before letting him go.

"Now where's the exit you monster cat!?"

"Don't call me a cat! I'm Morgana!"

After Sakamoto and Morgana's argument ended, Akira let Morgana take the lead and found that they stopped in front of the statue. As Morgana was talking Akira found himself inspecting the statue and saw that the jaw looked like a mechanism. Moving to pull at the jaw Akira found that it easily moved and caused the drawbridge to fall and Morgana had taken the lead again.

While running down a hall they were all intercepted by a guard which triggered Akira's clothes to change again. Getting read into a battle stance he was about to tell Sakamoto and Morgana to get back when to his surprise Morgana summoned his persona -as Arsene told him - called Zorro. Smirking, Akira started the battle by using an Eiha on the Incubus -Arsene coming in again for names - which only caused Morgana to laugh and call him an amateur and quickly gave him a tutorial on knocking down enemies as he used Garu on the Pyro Jack and then on the incubus swiftly killing it. The Pyro Jack went in to attack Morgana but he dodged in time while Akira chose to launch himself into the Jack with his dagger drawn. The Jack was destroyed just as easily as the Incubus.

Sakamoto and Morgana got into another fight which Akira barely listened to but did catch that Sakamoto's first name was Ryuji. They continued on down the many halls of the dungeon although when they got to another drawbridge Ryuji stopped to look into one of the cells, "Hold on a sec! I feel like I've seen what this dude's wearin' before... Dammit! I'm too flustered! I can't remember a damn thing!" Akira quickly looked at the uniform on the person in the cell and was surprised to find that it read Shujin on the back however before he could say anything the drawbridge dropped and another guard appeared.

This time two Pixies launched themselves at them but they were easily dodged by jumping back. Akira ordered Arsene to use Eiha which was enough to kill the first Pixie while still in mid-air causing him to smirk and order Arsene to do another Eiha before Morgana had time to react, killing the last Pixie.

Another argument between Ryuji and Morgana - Akira was beginning to get a headache - they followed Morgana up a flight of stairs that lead to the first floor. Morgana lead them to a room with a small vent in the wall which Akira assumed to lead to the outside of the castle. Voicing his question Morgana confirmed it as the only way out other than the front door. Ryuji managed to get the vent cover off with the maximum about of noise as you could make but it didn't matter since they were getting out.

While crawling through the vent he heard Morgana - who was staying behind - mutter, "Those two seem useful... especially the frizzy-haired one, if my judgement's right..." Akira decided that if they ever met the monster cat again to keep a closer eye on him.

Returning to the area where they first met, Akira noticed that there were more people around than there had been a few seconds ago like they had appeared from nowhere.  
"Did we make it...?" Ryuji who hadn't noticed the almost shift in the reality around them.

Arsene was telling him to check his phone, therefore, he pulled his phone out only for that weird app to be loaded up, "You have returned to the real world. Welcome back."  
"Huh? Returned...? ...Does that mean we got away?"

"I wonder..." Could this app have something to do with Igor and his strange dream? It made sense since Kamoshida had the same unnatural yellow eyes as the wardens and weird things only started happening after he met Igor with the exception of meeting Arsene in the streets but that had happened earlier that day. Arsene seemed to be enjoying himself as he was laughing at Akira's confusion. Akira was pulled from his thoughts when two policemen asked if Ryuji was his friend, "Something like that." Technically he had only just met Ryuji so he couldn't say they were friends but then again he didn't have many - 'any' as Arsene decided to remind him - friends.  
"Then you should go to school. Take him with you."

"Like I'm tryin' to say...! I don't know whats going on either!" The way that Ryuji was talking was likely to get them in trouble if the police here were anything like the ones in Samaru City, 'Corrupt you mean?' Arsene was really beginning to annoy Akira and it only seemed to make Arsene laugh more.  
"C'mon say somethin'!"

"Let's get going." They are already late for school and that isn't going to look a good way to start his school career. Akira headed back in the direction they came from and kept his eyes to the sky to see if he could see the castle. He didn't. As it should be the school that he and Sojiro had visited was in the same place the castle had been. Ryuji seemed unable to comprehend what was happening and it was that moment when another teacher walked out the doors to presumably discipline them. Akira didn't pay that must attention to it until a very familiar face walked out as well.

"You seem so carefree, Sakamoto. Quite a difference from when you did morning practice for the track team."

"Shuddup! It's your fault that-"

"How dare you speak that way to Mr Kamoshida." Kamoshida definitely had quite a bit of power in this school if Ryuji raising his voice - something Akira had assumed to be normal for Ryuji - rewarded that kind of response. At the same time, it built into the theory that Kamoshida had down something to wrong Ryuji and it seemed like it involved the track team. "...There's not much leeway left for you, you know?"

"He's the one that provoked me!"

"Do you really want to be expelled! In any case, you'll have to explain yourself. Follow me!"

"Come now. I should have been more considerate, too. Let's just say that we were both to blame." 'Fake' Arsene and Akira had the same thought. Kamoshida was putting on an act of innocence and the other teacher was falling for it.

"By the way... you're that new transfer student, correct? Akira Kurusu..." Kamoshida turned his attention to Akira and Akira could tell that Kamoshida already didn't like him. "...Have we met somewhere?"

'He won't remember the other world' Arsene informed him although Akira had no intention of mentioning the castle, "I saw a girl in your car."

He seemed to look relieved at that idea maybe he does subconsciously knows about the castle? "I'm sure you've heard from the principal, but cause any trouble and you'll be expelled. Understand?" His attitude had shifted once the other teacher left. Two can play that game.

Using one hand to push his glasses up, he starting smirking and began to give Kamoshida a dark look, "Can you overlook more?"

"Is that supposed to be a joke? I'm not laughing." Kamoshida was visibly irritated however if Akira looked closer in his eyes he could be the fear and that was enough for him - at the moment. "At any rate, hurry up and go to the faculty office. I'm sure Ms Kawakami's tired of waiting." Kamoshida's fake attitude returned, "Good luck trying to enjoy your new school life." He'd done something that was obvious. This new school had turned out far harder than Akira had thought.

* * *

 

"The school turned into a castle...? talking cat..? Are you hallucinating from an overdose?" Unfortunately, Akira wished he was but Arsene's ever-present voice started laughing again although it was distance like before his awakening. Odd. "I won't put up with you if you're simply joking around. I'm going to have you continue the story. The one who received a 'calling card' from the Phantom Thieves was an Olympic medalist..." What kind of Olympian starts working at a school? Kids are assholes at that age. "...An alumnus from Shujin Academy - the PE teacher Suguru Kamoshida." Oh, this maggot. "It's true that what he did were deplorable crimes from... indulging his desire. He confessed to it all." Unexplainable anger overtook Akira at the mention of the maggot's crimes yet he couldn't remember why and Arsene's voice was too distant to hear. "But there should've been no connection between the two of you since you had just transferred. Why did you target him?"

He hurt his friends. He can't remember who those friends are but he hurt them so he was punished. He couldn't tell this to her, he still didn't trust her enough to realise that information, "I don't want to say."

Akira recoiled when Sae slashed her hands on the table but she didn't notice nor did she notice how his breathing increased, "That's unacceptable! Try and recall it once again...!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to The Shipping Persona for commenting.  
> Thanks for the kudos as well.


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